wrestling / Columns
411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Should Rey Mysterio Win The WWE World Cup?
Image Credit: WWE
Welcome back to 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week are 411’s Jeremy Thomas & Justin Watry.
1. To solidify his return to WWE, Rey Mysterio should win the world cup at WWE Crown Jewel.
Justin Watry: FICTION – Rey Mysterio didn’t win the Royal Rumble in January 2018 to ‘solidify’ his return. He also didn’t win at the Greatest Royal Rumble Ever Event in April 2018 to ‘solidify’ his return. I know he is going to be full-time now, but it does not really matter. I am looking forward to his Smackdown 1000 match versus Shinsuke Nakamura and have HIGH expectations for them to steal the show. What he does in Saudi Arabia is…whatever. A part of me wonders if someone has $10 million to throw at a certain Mr. Best In The World to show up come November 2nd…
Jeremy Thomas: FICTION – One of the biggest components about Rey Mysterio’s return is that he’s a guy who doesn’t need any one particular big title win or tournament victory to have impact in WWE. Mysterio is a big name who adds value simply by being there. Now, I’m not going to say that he can just be booked to put people over, because that wouldn’t be using him properly. But the World Cup has plenty of other candidates that would benefit from it far more. If you want to give it to a wrestler with a nostalgia factor, Kurt Angle is the better choice because they’ve been building to his return for a while and the narrative payoff would be better. I’m not sure Rey should even make the tournament, to be honest. If I were fantasy booking this, I would have Rey get attacked in his match against Nakamura next week to start his next feud and let Shinsuke advance.
2. WWE made the right call turning the Trish & Lita singles matches into a tag match at WWE Evolution.
Justin Watry: FICTION – I did not like this change. I really did not like it at all. A rumor says it was planned all along; I don’t care. Trish Stratus vs. Alexa Bliss was building up nicely and had a lot of fan interest. Mickie James and Lita renewing their rivalry in a one on one clash was a perfect ‘blast from the past’ type of nostalgia match expected for WWE Evolution. Ring rust aside, I trusted both set of ladies to make it work. Instead, we got a clumsy segment thrown together on Raw to make it a tag bout. BOOO!!! Seriously. This really dampened my enthusiasm for the first ever WWE all women’s pay-per-view in two weeks. It will still be historic, great and entertaining…but geez, I really wanted to watch Trish vs. Alexa.
Jeremy Thomas: FACT – I was really looking forward to seeing Stratus mix it up with Alexa Bliss one-on-one, but overall I think this is the better choice. Evolution is going to have a lot of matches with all the championship bouts, and this will allow them to have more time rather than two slightly rushed matches. Lita and Stratus were always a great team, and storyline-wise I think this makes sense. We get plenty of chances for good interaction here, and I think there’s more intrigue in this than in the two singles bouts. All in all, I’m down with this.
3. Buddy Murphy’s rise & success is WWE’s best feel good story of 2018.
Justin Watry: FICTION – The feel good story of the year is Ronda Rousey shutting up all her critics and being the real beast of Monday nights for RAW. Match of the Year belongs to her. Arguably feud of the year and arguably best rookie year ever for any wrestler starting out. Especially coming from an entirely different sport. Unreal how comfortable she has settled into her role as special attraction/regular all in one. Super cool. As for Buddy Murphy, good for him and awesome stuff…but I do not watch 205 LIVE to form an opinion. No comment needed.
Jeremy Thomas: FICTION – If Daniel Bryan had not returned to the ring, I’d have gone with Fact here. No doubt, Murphy’s elevation in 205 Live has been really well done and kudos to him and creative on it. But Bryan’s return, while it’s less a storyline than a real-life situation that played out on camera, has to be the big feel-good story of the year for me. We’re getting to see a guy who had been (understandably) prevented from doing what he loves for the sake of his own health get back to it, and that’s the very definition of feel-good. Sorry, Buddy, but you’re gonna have to settle for second place here.
SWITCH!
4. Moving Mike Kanellis to 205 Live will be his best chance for success in WWE.
Jeremy Thomas: FACT – Kanellis was pretty much dead in the water on any main brand. I maintain that he should have started off in NXT and not been jumped right into the main roster. But given that he was, 205 Live is his best shot. He can show off his ring skills more effectively on the cruiserweight show and simply have more time to shine, something that Smackdown and Raw have never allotted for him. I’m hoping he gets his WWE career rehabbed a bit and then maybe he can move back to Raw or Smackdown, although I also wouldn’t complain if he simply got to stay a big part of 205 Live for as long as possible.
Justin Watry: FICTION – Why are there two questions about the cruiserweights this week and nothing about Shawn F’N Michaels returning to the ring after an eight year absence? I mean for real, the greatest of all-time is coming back from retirement for a legitimate dream match and nothing. Okay, my thoughts on Magic Mike going to 205 Live – I had no idea. It took me until reading this email to know that he appeared on WWE television again. If your best shot at success is going to 205 Live, I question what his ceiling truly is. I dug his initial appearance with Maria. The entire act had tons of potential and was worth exploring. Looks like Andrade Almas and Zelina ‘took’ their spot on Smackdown LIVE. No complaints but yeah, I wish the best for Mike and Maria. However, getting me to care about it on 205 Live is going to be an uphill climb. Neville and Austin Aries excelled in the division but still showed up on Raw. That is no longer a thing. Sorry…
5. While WWE is heavily teasing it, Dean Ambrose will not be the one to turn heel on the Shield.
Jeremy Thomas: FACT – For most forms of storytelling, I would say that they’ve made it too obvious for them to go through with it now. Wrestling, much as we all love it, has never been one to shy away from going the obvious route. However, I just don’t see it. Not only have they broadcast Ambrose’s turn to the point that it almost can’t happen, but I don’t see him as the natural choice. Ambrose is fine in that role, but he doesn’t work as well as a heel as Rollins does or Reigns would. (I know, Reigns isn’t turning heel. I’m just saying, he would work better.) It certainly could still happen, but if it did I feel like it would be met with a shrug at this point, without the potential impact that it could have had if it hadn’t been openly teased for so long.
Justin Watry: FICTION – Well, it won’t be Roman Reigns. It won’t be Seth Rollins, not with the amount of support he has gotten from the WWE Universe these past six months. That only leaves Dean Ambrose. I thought all along he would turn and without his injury earlier in 2018, he probably would have. No reason to change plans now. Build more tension with The Shield members, tease the turn, tease the turn, complete the reunion…then turn. Ambrose and Rollins lighting it up at WrestleMania 35 sounds good to me.
6. What is your level of excitement for next week’s Smackdown 1000?
Jeremy Thomas: 7 out of 10 – I am definitely looking forward to it. Anniversary episodes are often fun, and Smackdown is typically better at balancing storyline and the kinds of side bits that are typical of these kinds of things. The list of reported returns is impressive, Mysterio vs. Nakamura should be a great match and I just generally dig the Blue Brand right now. I’m not marking off days in my calendar until Tuesday or anything, but I would say I’m moderately excited.
Justin Watry: 6 out of 10 – Back in January 2014, Batista returned to RAW after a four year sabbatical and helped WWE grab its best television viewership of the year. Yes, even better than the night after WrestleMania 30. You know why that happened? Because the company was relentless in hyping up his comeback. The vignettes and build were non-stop for four weeks. All anybody could do was talk about The Animal returning. Now in October 2018, he is returning after another four year sabbatical. You know how his return was made official? A quick post online and a subtle mention of it on Smackdown Live last week. Same with Raw. A quick mention and nothing else. This week, we DID get an effective hype video for Evolution (Batista), but that is too little, too late. Smackdown 1000 is right around the corner. The momentum should have already been there for weeks. I remember the Raw 1000 hype was so unreal I was jacked up thinking about all the legends appearing and matches set. This? Not even close. Edge will be there. Good. The Undertaker will be there. Good. Vickie Guerrero is rumored to be there. Good. Rey Mysterio is wrestling Nakamura – VERY good! It just feels tossed out there seven days before the big event. Maybe The Rock will show up and all will be forgiven? Until then, this SHOULD be a 10 out of 10 but is more like a 6 out of 10. Sad.
